Children aren’t your excuse to discriminate

There are a lot of problems with the internet. We talk about them all the time, addiction, misinformation, mental health impacts, and others. 

But certain far-right groups like The Heritage Foundation like to claim that access to information about the LGBTQ+ community, and about transgender people specifically, is just as much of a problem.

Right now, there’s a bill called Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, that members of Congress are trying to pass. They’ve admitted that they will use this bill to limit information about trans people, racism, and the civil rights movement because these topics might be emotionally damaging.

These topics are important for people to have access to. We deserve to be able to research the history of racism in our country and how people have stood up against it. Trans people deserve to have access to resources that could help them.

People who think like this seem to forget that black children exist, that trans children exist. Limiting access and censoring information relating to these topics only hurts these kids. Not only would that take away resources from them, but that limits ways other people can learn about these communities and about real, lived experiences.

I’m not saying that the internet doesn’t have problems or that it’s a good place for children. But I don’t think that entire groups of people should be punished. Instead, why don’t we focus on addressing the impossible beauty standards that have been set for children? Why don’t we focus on making sure everyone has equal rights.

These constant attacks on communities in the name of “protecting children” is getting real fucking old. Are there issues on the internet? Yes, absolutely. Censoring information about minority communities isn’t the answer because these communities are not the problem. If you feel like a group of actual, living people should be censored, you need to take a step back.

Write and call our representatives, sign petitions. 

Make sure they know how you feel about what they’re doing.

Lynn Spahr is a Hutchinson sophomore studying journalism and the Opinion Page Editor.

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